Problem: Ben earns a base salary of $150.00 every week with an additional 13% commission on everything he sells. If Ben sold $4400.00 worth of items last week, what was his total salary?
Explanation: First, find the amount of commission made by using the following formula: commission rate $\times$ total sales $=$ amount of commission made Since the commission rate is a percentage, we have to convert it into a decimal first. Percent means "out of one hundred," so $13\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{13}{100}$ which is also equal to $13 \div 100$ $13 \div 100 = 0.13$ Now you have all the information you need to find the amount of commission made: $0.13$ $\times$ $$4400.00$ $=$ $$572.00$ We can find the total salary for Ben by adding the amount of commission made to his base salary. amount of commission made $+$ base salary $=$ total salary $$572.00$ $+$ $$150.00$ $=$ $$722.00$ The total salary Ben made last week was $$722.00$.